For those interested a copy of the bill being put before the Victorian Parliament can be viewed at http://www.legislation.vic.gov.au/domino/Web_Notes/LDMS/PubPDocs.nsf/ee665e366dcb6cb0ca256da400837f6b/0da5fb10c1e80256ca257a6a00071897!OpenDocument
Favourite Comment of the Week
I get up to 20 comments and questions a day to this blog and every now and then one hits the mark in just a few words. I thought I would share this one from Paul Miller. His comment reads: Perhaps Professor Fels should name and shame the Vic Government for profiteering with its triple tax for decades. There is some logic in what Paul […]
Will some insurers really forego collecting FSL in 2Q 2013?
State Government politicians have been inundated with emails and letters from members of the insurance industry and the public concerned at the effect of having no equitable transition period leading up to the removal of the Fire Service Levy on 1 July 2013. Up until recently, the response has been to blame the insurance industry but I was passed a copy of an email from […]
Hurricane Isaac hits 7 years to the day after Katrina
Hurricane Isaac made a second landfall near the mouth of the Mississippi River, at Port Fourchon, Louisiana early in the morning of 29th August 2012 local time, exactly seven years following the landfall of Katrina. The storm centre is at the time of writing about 100 kilometres SW of New Orleans. Isaac is described as a large and slow-moving storm, with potential hazards as far away […]
Victorian Government finally announces changes to FSL
I, like many observers, am pleased that the Victorian Government has finally released information on the shifting of Fire Service Levy from insurance to property rates. It is great to see that the promise to remove the tax has been followed through and while no-one in insurance likes the lack of a true transition, we only have 10 months before the triple tax is removed […]
ISR Additional Benefit # 4 – Temporary Protection
This week I look at the fourth of the additional benefits afforded by the Australian Mark IV Industrial Special Risks Policy, “Temporary Protection”. As with all these benefits, they do not have an official heading, but for convenience I gave each a descriptive heading when I wrote my book on the Policy back in 2006. The wording of this particular benefit is the same for […]
Affordability of Insurance and Government Taxes
I was over in Auckland late last week attending the IBANZ (Insurance Broker Association of New Zealand) conference. Interestingly, while the ongoing affordability of insurance was a topic of keen discussion, particularly through the great panel session hosted by Terry McMullan, the issue of Fire Service Levy did not come up in any of the sessions that I attended. The ongoing affordability of insurance is […]
Congratulations to AILA on its mentoring night
Last night I attended with my son Steven a mentoring evening hosted by the New South Wales Chapter of the Australian Insurance Law Association (AILA). I understand this was the third year of the event but the first year I had been invited. It was a great success with a wonderful venue (Guillaume at the Bennelong, Sydney Opera House) very well organised and everyone got into […]
Guest post on Life Insurance
The following is an article that was first posted on a US site http://www.4nannies.com/blog/life-insurance-options-for-nannies/ by Rachael. Rachael has seen my work and asked if I would like to include her article as a guest blog on this site. As the advice is sound, I am happy to do so. Where you read nanny, I think you can read “people”. =============================================================== “Whether they simply put off […]
August 2012 – A month I will not forget
It has been quite a month. First up, as I mentioned last week, Zurich Insurance has agreed in principle to subscribe to PolicyComparison.co.uk. Meanwhile, another major broker also signed up to our UK service. Secondly, Owens McCarthy has agreed to act as our agent and assist in the development and marketing of our online services in Ireland, starting with BIcalculator.ie. The management team at Owens McCarthy has a very […]